Industrial Revolution key terms

Industrial Revolution

Period of major economic change marked by mechanization and factories.

Mechanization

Use of machines to replace labor.

Coal

Main energy source of the first Industrial Revolution.

Steam Engine

Machine using steam power to drive industrial production.

Bourgeoisie

Wealthy social class owning businesses and capital.

Working class/ Proletariat

Industrial workers who sell their labor.

Wage labor (salariat)

Work in exchange for salary.

Economic liberalism

Belief that economy should function without state intervention.

Socialism

Ideology seeking social equality and workers’ rights.

Rural

Movements of people from countryside to cities.

Emigration

Leaving one’s country to settle elsewhere.